At its fall meeting, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission recommended to the Archivist of the United States grants of $1.9 million for 34 projects in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

These recommendations included $833,167 million for seven documentary editing projects from the Founding Era of the United States. The papers of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and George Washington were funded, as were documentary histories of the First Federal Congress and the Ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Eleven subventions were awarded to university presses to defray the cost of publishing new volumes on Clarence Mitchell, Florence Kelley, Margaret Sanger, and Ulysses S. Grant.

Nineteen grants, totaling $971,000, were recommended for a variety of projects through the states. The Council of State Archivists was awarded funding for its National Archival Network Project, and regrant programs in Arizona, California, Maine, and Rhode Island received support. The California State Archives received to support for its program to preserve the state's geospatial records created by the California Spatial Information Library.

The Institute for the Editing of Historical Documents also received funding to continue its program of training documentary editors.

The NHPRC also announced that it will now be accepting applications through its own web site or through Grants.gov - printed grant guidelines are no longer available. For more information, go to www.archives.gov/nhprc/.

The Archivist of the United States, Allen Weinstein, is the Chairman of the Commission, and Max J. Evans is its Executive Director. The NHPRC is the only funding agency whose only focus is the documentary heritage of the United States. Established in 1934, it has awarded grants for preserving, publishing, and access to vital historical documents. Twice each year, in May and November, the Commission recommends grants to the Chairman. Its appropriations for FY 2006 are $5.5 million.

Recommended Grants

Founding Era Documentary EditingThese long-term projects document the major historical figures from the Founding Era of the United States, as well as the history of the First Congress, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court-the latter project is nearing completion. The Papers of Alexander Hamilton (26 volumes, Columbia University) are already complete.

The Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, $104,060

The Papers of Benjamin Franklin. Yale University, $112,870

The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Princeton University, $114,717

The Papers of James Madison. University of Virginia, $97,162

The Papers of George Washington. University of Virginia, $100,846

The Documentary History of the First Federal Congress. George Washington University, $161,261

The Ratification of the Constitution project. Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin, $142,251

Publishing SubventionsGrants to publishers to help defray the printing costs of individual volumes of documentary editions.

Founding EraBoard of Regents, University of Wisconsin,The Ratification of the Constitution, Vol. XXII, $10,000

University of Virginia Press,The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War, Vol. 16, $10,000

Rhode Island State Archives. A two-year regrant and training project to provide assistance to grassroots organizations and institutions within the state. $130,000

South Carolina Department of Archives and History. A two-year Planning and Administrative Support project to develop a new state plan and to support ongoing SHRAB activities. $45,970

5. Electronic Records/Technology Projects
California State Archives. To develop the hardware and software infrastructure to preserve the state's geospatial records created by the California Spatial Information Library. $220,918